Year: 2016
- World News
Second car bomb in a month kills 32 in Turkish capital Ankara
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second car bomb in a month kills 32 in Turkish capital Ankara Phuket Gazette / Reuters ANKARA: A car bomb tore through a crowded transport hub in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125 in the second such attack…
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Feadship’s Asian market blooming
PHUKET: Well ahead of the incredibly successful inaugural Thailand Yacht Show (TYS), Feadship Royal Dutch Shipbuilders were making superyacht waves while expanding into the the Asian region. “At this moment, Feadship is building multiple yachts in different sizes and in different models for Asian and Asia-based clients. The product and the brand appeals to the most discerning yachtsmen in the…
Read More » - World News
Texas festival apologizes after Muslim Olympian told to remove hijab
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Texas festival apologizes after Muslim Olympian told to remove hijab Phuket Gazette / Reuters US: Organizers of the South by Southwest (SXSW) arts festival said on Sunday they apologized to U.S. Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad after a volunteer said she must remove her Muslim head covering to…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Eight killed, seven injured at SCB head office in Bangkok
BANGKOK: At least eight people were killed and seven injured in a freak accident at the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) head office in Bangkok last night. The incident, which was initially thought to be a fire or gas cylinder explosion, was announced to be a fault in the fire extinguishing system in an emergency press statement released by the bank…
Read More » - Phuket News
Superyacht crew member killed in anchoring accident
PHUKET: A crew member on the superyacht Ocean Victory was fatally injured yesterday in a freak accident as the ship was anchoring off Koh Tachai in the Similan Islands archipelago. The Bulgarian national was reportedly caught up in a chain mechanism while the 140-meter superyacht was weighing anchor at about 2pm. The 33-year-old man sustained massive injuries to both his…
Read More » - Thai Life
Profile: The Life of Pie – a profile of Susan Usher
PHUKET: The Aussie meat pie has an almost iconic status within the Pantheon of Australian idiosyncrasies, right up there with kangaroos (flying and earthbound) and Pom-bashing. How endearingly quirky it is then to find the quotidian Aussie meat pie well established here in Phuket, acting as an exotic taste of distant parts for some, while for others providing a comforting…
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Island View: Island of lost souls
PHUKET: The recent death of American national Nathan D House is just one of many incidents in which people travel to this tropical paradise to end their lives. Though the death of Mr House is still under investigation, the note he supposedly left behind, as well as a website under his name detailing his well-articulated thoughts surrounding the topic of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Disrobed Phuket monk busted for gathering alms
PHUKET: Police arrested a disrobed monk for donning sacred attire and collecting alms in Phuket yesterday morning. Police were alerted to Somsak Donlakorn, 54, by local abbot Phra Kru Mettapirom. “By the time we arrived, Mr Somsak had already collected 4,200 baht,” explained Lt Preechaphat Sangnoi of the Phuket City Police. “We asked to see his monkhood registration, but he…
Read More » - Thailand News
Deal offered to mafia who mend their ways
BANGKOK: Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has offered to conditionally let off mafia-style figures with ‘dark influence’ in cases where evidence is weak. However, he warned that they will have to mend their ways. Hundreds of police and military officers are on the lists of ‘dark’, influential figures who are being targeted in the government’s ongoing crackdown. “If there is…
Read More » - Phuket News
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Family of lost-and-found 3-year-old might lose him again [video]
PHUKET: The three-year-old who was found in the jungles of Phuket after having gone missing for six days was released from hospital on Monday. He is now in the care of the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families while a committee considers whether or not his family is capable of raising him. Jetsadakron Chaiyo, nicknamed Nong DJ, went missing from…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket shooting range safety under review after Estonian death
PHUKET: Safety regulations at shooting ranges in Phuket are to be tightened following two deaths at ranges in the province in the past two years. In March last year, a 21-year-old British man killed himself at Thalang Shooting Range (story here). This week, 38-year-old Estonian Andres Podra turned a gun on himself at Patong Hill Shooting Range and died from…
Read More » - Thailand News
Trang fishermen asked to help slow-moving male dugong
TRANG: A senior marine official has urged Trang fishermen to help a male dugong (sea cow) believed to be entangled in a dragnet. Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, the head of Phuket Marine Biological Centre’s Rare Sea Animal Division, said the animal was spotted during the division’s latest annual survey of the seagrass zone off the province. “We have been monitoring him and…
Read More » - Phuket News
BREAKING NEWS: One dead, three injured in Phuket taxi crash
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver died after crashing into a crane on the shoulder of the bypass road at about 10am today. Three Chinese tourists in the north-bound vehicle were injured. Police identified the driver as Teerawat Phetdam, 35. Rescue workers and police are at the scene. — Kritsada Mueanhawong
Read More » - Phuket News
Police urged not to rule out foul play in death of Phuket man
PHUKET: The family of a man, whose body was found under a Phuket City Municipality water tower this morning, is urging police not to rule out foul play. The body of Sompong Vijit, 30, was discovered by a municipality staffer who was walking by the area. “Yesterday evening, Mr Sompong went out to collect cans and bottles for recycling. When…
Read More » - Phuket News
Four busted smoking heroin in Phuket
PHUKET: Four men were arrested for smoking heroin in Phuket yesterday evening. The men were found in a bamboo shack in Thalang with 40.2 grams of heroin and drug paraphernalia, confirmed Capt Suchart Luecha of the Thalang Police. The men were named as the Somchai Chuanchit, 51; Wissarut Dujpayak, 28; Jaturong Nakasarn, 25; and the property owner Sanong Ngankaeng, 46.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Sir Nick Faldo formally opens new BISP Golf Center
PHUKET: British golf legend Sir Nick Faldo – six-time Major Winner and Laguna Golf Ambassador – was invited as the guest of honor to officiate yesterday’s grand opening of the new British International School Phuket (BISP) Golf Center. Dozens of members of the BISP community attended the ceremony at the center, located adjacent to the top football pitch behind BISP’s…
Read More » - Business News
Finance: Will 2016 be the year of the bear?
PHUKET: There’s an old saying on Wall Street that might unnerve investors: “As goes January, so goes the year.” Unfortunately, January 2016 was a very bad opening for stock markets. In fact, it was one of the worst openings in one hundred years, as the Dow Jones industrial average fell about 5.5 per cent while NASDAQ fell almost eight per…
Read More » - Thai Life
Up in the Air: Phuket-Hat Yai: truly boutique flights
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways daily flights connecting Southern Thailand’s two busiest airports – Phuket (HKT) and Hat Yai International – are currently experiencing average load factors ranging from 60 to 70 per cent, with the overwhelming majority of passengers being Thai nationals, an airline executive has revealed. Pannaphorn Preechachan, Bangkok Airways chief of regional corporate communications for Southern Thailand, said the…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Push for preventive medicine in Phuket
PHUKET: We hope that Nora Galgoczy speaking openly about contracting the incredibly common sexually transmitted disease Human papillomavirus (HPV) and her subsequent battle with cervical cancer will inspire at least some of our readers to take a more proactive approach in preventing the life-threating or debilitating medical conditions out there that are largely preventable, thanks to modern medicine. Over the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket honorary consuls request better coordination with airport
PHUKET: Phuket honorary consuls on Wednesday pushed for better access and resources for providing support to foreigners during emergency situations at Phuket International Airport. “We have requested a contact point, as well as a contact person, who will – in case of an emergency – allow us to quickly get all the necessary information and provide whatever services we can,”…
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Get tested: Phuket cancer survivor says you could be next
PHUKET: The months leading up to July 2015 were the self-described happiest times of Nora Galgoczy’s life. The 29-year-old Hungarian expat was freediving, climbing and in love. She also had cervical cancer, but she didn’t know it. “I expected that I would feel something: something odd, something bad or just something. I thought cancer didn’t attack people like me,” Ms…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket road-safety campaign continues after initial success
PHUKET: A road-safety campaign encouraging Phuket motorcyclists to wear helmets has been hailed a success in Kathu, where less riders are being arrested for not wearing protective head gear. The progress has prompted officials to extend the campaign at least until the Songkran break in April. The ‘One District, One Road, with 100 Per Cent Helmets’ campaign was launched on…
Read More » - Phuket News
B4bn Phuket land seizure not to impact Big Buddha
PHUKET: Despite photographs of Phuket’s Big Buddha appearing along side news stories about the seizure of land valued at 4 billion baht in the same area, the iconic statue will be unaffected by the Anti-Money Laundering Office’s (AMLO’s) investigation. The AMLO transaction board resolved to seize a 45-rai plot and a 19-rai plot of land along Freedom Beach and in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket east coast to airport speedboat taxi proposed
PHUKET: The honorary consul to Phuket from Norway proposed on Wednesday that a speedboat taxi service be put in place along the island’s east coast, connecting Phuket International Airport with Chalong. “There are very few options for locals and tourists to get from the airport to Chalong that are both convenient and affordable,” said Pornphan Sittichaivijit, the Royal Norwegian Honorary…
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‘Hearts are in pieces’ five years after tsunami hits Japan
RIKUZENTAKATA: Japan on Friday mourned the thousands who lost their lives in a massive earthquake and tsunami five years ago that turned towns to matchwood and triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The nine-magnitude quake struck offshore on a chilly Friday, sparking huge black waves along a vast swathe of coastline and killing nearly 20,000 people.…
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How a hacker’s typo helped stop a billion dollar bank heist
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community How a hacker’s typo helped stop a billion dollar bank heist Phuket Gazette / Reuters DHAKA: A spelling mistake in an online bank transfer instruction helped prevent a nearly $1 billion heist last month involving the Bangladesh central bank and the New York Fed, banking officials…
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Fukushima’s ground zero: No place for man or robot
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fukushima’s ground zero: No place for man or robot Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAPAN: The robots sent in to find highly radioactive fuel at Fukushima’s nuclear reactors have “died”; a subterranean “ice wall” around the crippled plant meant to stop groundwater from becoming contaminated has yet…
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Phuket athletes bag top spots at Philippines Ironman
PHUKET: Phuket native Jaray Jearanai – Thailand’s top triathlete – and his fellow team members at Z-Coaching Phuket made quite the impression at the Subic Bay Ironman 70.3 held in the Philippines last weekend. The Phuket-based triathlon academy bagged several victories and top spots at the competition. Mr Jaray put in one of his best performances yet to go sub…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Tighter traffic law enforcement in Phuket for Songkran
PHUKET: Phuket is among seven tourist destinations in the country undergoing a crackdown on traffic law violations ahead of the Songkran holiday in April. Since March 1, the Royal Thai Police and its relevant divisions – Tourist Police, Traffic Police, Strategy Division, and Foreign Affairs Division – in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Department of…
Read More » - Thai Life
Profile: Drifting from Australia to Asia
PHUKET: Anthony Cameron, originally from Melbourne, Australia has led an interesting life compared to most. Escaping from Melbourne in his early twenties to central Victoria, he designed and built a sustainable house and raised two sustainable children, before finally settling in Phuket in 2012. Over the years, Tony has worked as a sound engineer, fruit picker, tour manager, teacher, factory…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket police told to keep close watch on mass SIM purchases
PHUKET: Phuket police say they were unaware of mass SIM purchases before the arrest of a suspect in Phuket on Saturday, but are keeping an eye on such activities following orders from the national police chief. National Police Commissioner General Chakthip Chaijinda has been in touch with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to discuss security concerns, Region 8…
Read More » - Phuket News
Beiber to race into Phuket on Formula 1 Powerboat’s dollar
PHUKET: Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Adele are slated to headline concerts at Phuket’s first Formula 1 Powerboat race in November, said event organizer Lucky Triple T. The artists are expected to grace the Phuket stage for one evening each of the three-night event. Despite his love for fast, expensive vehicles, Mr Bieber is not expected to race. The UIM F1H2O…
Read More » - Phuket News
Self-proclaimed prophet’s wrath descends on Phuket lottery shop
PHUKET: A man who claimed to be a prophet of the ‘God of the Sun’ was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital yesterday after turning violent at a lottery shop in Phuket Town. Suktiporn Onsuwan, 45, claimed that the God of the Sun had divulged to him the winning lottery numbers on the auspicious day of the solar eclipse (story here).…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket beach officials plan to charge for trash management
PHUKET: Exasperated officials at Mai Khao Beach are urging the public to help maintain cleanliness in the area, barring which, they say they would be forced to implement a visitors’ fee to contribute toward trash management. “We are chalking out a plan to collect a fee from the public and use that money to hire staff to collect trash,” Sarawut…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket motorbike gang attack German tourist in Rawai
PHUKET: Police are hunting a Phuket motorbike gang member who attacked a German tourist and a Thai woman in Rawai early this morning. Siegfried Kiesl, 58, told police that he was crossing the Rawai beachfront road with three friends – a German man and two Thai women – when a young man racing on a motorbike crashed into him. “Mr…
Read More » - Phuket News
Notes found on dead Estonian at Phuket shooting range
PHUKET: Police have found two hand-written notes on the body of an Estonian national who allegedly shot himself in the head at the Patong Hill Shooting Range yesterday. Andres Podra, 38, reportedly rented a .45 handgun at the range and fired seven shots at a target before turning the gun on himself and discharging the eighth round into his head…
Read More » - World News
Myanmar on edge as long wait for new president ends
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar on edge as long wait for new president ends Phuket Gazette / Reuters NAYPYITAW: Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has proposed a close friend of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as its presidential candidate, ending a four-month wait for the identity of a…
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